For those who fly regularly, living close to an airport might be convenient, but it’s also noisy. To reduce noise, Basel-Mulhouse airport has decided to reduce the number of flights taking off between 11pm and midnight by half, according to a press release. Unlike Geneva airport, which is located entirely on Swiss soil but still […]
Taxes – one in seven in some Swiss cantons has tax debt
The cantons of Neuchâtel (14.7%) and Geneva (14.6%) have the highest percentages of taxpayers owing money, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. Fribourg (12.6%), Bern (9.5%) and Luzern (6.5%) complete the top-five. Vaud (5.9%), Basel-City (5.5%) and Zurich (2.4%) are further down. Aargau (2.0%) and Uri (1.0%) sit at the bottom with fewest with oustanding tax […]
42 suspected extremists in Swiss army
A recent reported published by Switzerland’s Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS), reveals that 42 extremism investigations were requested in 2017. In 2016, there were 50. Switzerland has a system of compulsory military service for all Swiss men who pass a physical and psychological aptitude test. Those who miss the mark on […]
Swiss trains ranked best in Europe
The 2017 European Railway Performance Index placed Switzerland number one with a score of 7.2 out of 10. The index, produced by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), looks at intensity of use, quality of service and safety. A score of 7.2 places Switzerland in tier 1 alongside Denmark (6.8), Finland (6.6), Germany and Austria (6.1), […]
High temperature record broken in Swiss Alps
Friday 21 April 2018 saw the mercury climb to 28.9 degrees in Sion, the capital city of the Swiss canton of Valais, according to Meteo Swiss, Switzerland’s metrological service. 28.9 degrees is a record for this date in the Alpine city. The last record for this date was set on 21 April 1968. On Friday, […]
Swiss living abroad – where they go depends on age
Recent statistics show there were 751,800 Swiss citizens living outside the country at the end of 2017, around 11% of the 6.3 million Swiss passport holders. Most Swiss abroad live in France (26.1%), followed by Germany (11.8%) and Italy (6.6%). The chart below shows the top 20 countries. Swiss abroad are on average younger than […]
Healthcare costs rise further in Switzerland
Statistics published today show a further rise in Swiss healthcare costs. In 2016, spending on healthcare rose by 3.8% reaching over CHF 80 billion, 12.2% of GDP. In 2015, Swiss healthcare spending was equal to 11.9% of GDP. The challenge of rising healthcare costs is not confined to Switzerland. In the UK in 2015, healthcare […]
Facebook refused 70% of Swiss government requests for information
From 2013 to mid 2017, Switzerland’s authorities sent 361 data requests to Facebook, most related to suspected terrorist activity. The social network refused to provide information for 253 (70%) of these requests, according to the newspaper SonntagsZeitung. Part of the problem is legal differences between the US and Switzerland. Lulzana Musliu, a spokesperson for the […]
Swiss unemployment at lowest in 3.5 years
Swiss unemployment is at its lowest for 3.5 years, according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). The last time Swiss unemployment reached March 2018’s level was in October 2014. After reaching a peak of 3.7% in January 2017, the rate had fallen to 2.9% by March 2018. Unemployment has some seasonality however […]
Insurance boss suggests Swiss health insurance deductibles of 10,000 francs
Philomena Colatrella, the CEO of Swiss insurer CSS Insurance, has stirred the lively debate around Switzerland’s rising cost of health insurance by proposing deductibles of CHF 5,000 and CHF 10,000 – deductibles set the amount people pay out of their own pockets before their insurance kicks in. Colatrella discussed the idea in an interview with […]
